


Torn

by Nicholeodeon1903



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Anxiety, Co-workers, Depression, F/M, Gen, Heartbreak, Love Triangles, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Romance, Writers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:55:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25154323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicholeodeon1903/pseuds/Nicholeodeon1903
Summary: Poe Dameron recently finished school and finds himself with his dream job. To celebrate, he reconnects with some old friends but the night goes wrong. Past love interests become present ones, throwing Poe down a hole we worked so hard to climb out of in the past. How will he find himself out of it this time? Can he?
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux, Poe Dameron/Finn, Poe Dameron/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Torn

5:00 am on the dot, Poe's eyes spring open. He climbs out of bed and heads to the kitchen, trying to start his day. The glow of his laptop catches his eye as he pours coffee into his cup. He trudges over and finds a new email waiting for him. It's from 'The Resistance Writing co.'. Poe quickly sat down at his desk and opened the email. It read, "Dear Poe Dameron, we have read over your application and are excited to announce you have been hired as a writer for this company. Please come into the office this coming Tuesday to receive your first assignment. Best wishes, Leia Organa, President of The Resistance Writing co." Poe stood up, pushing the chair over. He got the job, "Yes yes yes!" He yelled and he danced around the room. His first thought was to call his mom and tell her the great news.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Mom! You're not going to believe this! I got the job!" Poe was practically yelling.

"Good for you! I'm so proud of you!" She sounded distracted, "I have to go, your father and I were in the middle of watching the news."

Poe stood still, "The news is more important than me?"

"Love you!" His mom hung up.

This was what normally happens when Poe called home. It was either the news or the dog. Poe dropped his arm down to his side, "Love you too." It was now 5:10 am, not much time had gone by. Some sunlight peeked through the closed curtains of Poe's living room. He was attracted by the light so he walked over and opened the curtains. It looked nice out, calm. Poe checked the weather on his phone and saw it was 50 degrees out. _"Perfect for a jog."_ He thought. He rushed back to his room and threw on a pair of shorts and grabbed his earbuds before heading out. The slight breeze fluttered with Poe's shirt as he ran against the wind. He noticed all the cars that drove by his apartment this early in the morning and wondered where they were all going. He noticed the cars that had men in fancy clothes and the ones with women putting on makeup as they drive. _"Don't you all have a family to care for? Someone, to wake up next to whom you should still be laying with at this hour?"_ Poe questioned in his head. As the sun rose more, he made it back to his apartment. He could smell his own sweat without trying to. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He walked back out into his bedroom and pulled off his shirt and shorts. Looking into his mirror, his hands shifted to over his stomach, _"I know exactly why I'm single."_ A look of disgust appeared. He slipped off his underwear as he stepped back into the bathroom and into the shower. The cold water hit his skin, it felt refreshing. He shampooed his thick and wavy hair, feeling the suds fall down his back. His phone started ringing, scaring the shit out of him. He jumped and covered his chest out of panic. He stood frozen, listening to his ringtone, for a few seconds. Eventually, he turned off the shower and wrapped himself up in a towel. He found his way to his phone and answered.

"Hello?"

"Poe! Hey buddy, good to hear your voice!"

"Who is this?"

"Did you delete my number or something? It's Finn!"

Poe's jaw dropped, "Finn? Oh my god, buddy! It's been forever!"

"Too long! What took you so long to answer?"

Poe looked down the water dripping down his legs, "I was uh...showering."

There was laughter on the other end, not Finn's.

"Is someone else there with you?"

"Oh yeah. You remember Rose right?"

"Yeah, she was the weird one of our group..."

"Well, she is kinda sorta my girlfriend now!"

"Good...good for you bud!" Poe didn't know how to respond.

"Anyway, I was calling you because I'm gonna be back in town and wanted to know if we could all hang out tonight?"

"What do you mean 'we all'?"

"Like me, Rose, Rey, and Ben! Like old times."

Poe walked out of the bathroom and looked at his towel-covered self, "Sure, I assume my place?"

"I'll bring the drinks! I'll see you tonight!" Finn hung up.

Poe tossed his phone to his bed, "There goes my plan to lay around all day." He kept his towel tight around his waist as he searched for something to wear. _"Plaid? No. Black? Nope, Ben is always wearing black. Orange. Orange is good."_ He pulled out an orange t-shirt and slipped it onto his damp skin. He found a pair of grey jeans and sniffed them, _"Smells clean, that will do."_ He pushed one leg into the pants and hopped around his room whilst putting the other in. He fell over and hit his head on the carpeted floor of his bedroom, "Shit...ow" Continuing to lay on the floor he pulled his pants up and buckled them. Out of breath he sat up and exhaled. He reached over and grabbed his phone and checked for Rey's number in his contacts. His thumb hovered over the call button until a car outside honked their horn and made Poe jump, jerking his thumb to the phone. The phone started dialing, "Ahahaha shit," Poe forced the phone to his ear and clenched his eyes shut, "Don't pick up, don't pick up, don't pick up..."

"Uh hi?" Rey answered.

"Heyyyyy Rey!" Poe smacked his forehead, "How are you?"

"I'm good...why are you being weird?"

Poe raised his pitch, "What? Me being weird? Pfft nooo!"

There was giggling and ruffling of sheats on the other end.

"Am I interrupting something?"

The giggling continued, "Stop it! No, it's fine. Why did you call anyway? I never took you to be the 'called just cuz' type."

"Right, there is a point to this, haha. Uh so Finn and Rose are coming over tonight and we planned to get everyone back together. At least for one night if you're up to it..."

"By everyone...does that mean Ben is invited?"

Poe flopped his back onto the floor, "Ugh fine. But he needs to be chill, I don't want to get stuck in the fridge again."

"Don't worry, I think he will be very relaxed." Rey giggled and started kissing someone.

Poe sat up, "Oh uh, Rey? I'm still here. Wh- Who are you, uh smooching?"

"Right sorry. And for the record, I am smooching my boyfriend, Ben."

"What?"

"Yeah, not long after we all kinda split up, Ben and I got together. Going on 3 years and they have been the best years of my life." She started kissing him again.

"Oh, ok nice. I'm...I'm gonna go. See you tonight Rey." Poe hung up and tossed his phone across the room, "Ehehhhick" He shivered and stood back up. He looked to his alarm clock on his nightstand, 6:15 am. It was still the early morning, many hours away from catching up with some old friends. Poe dedicated the next couple of hours to clean up the majority of his apartment. Then right after he fell fast asleep on the couch.

A pounding on the door woke Poe. He sprung up as his eyes awoke, "Y- yeah? What...who's there?"

"It's me! I've got the beers, let me in!" Finn yelled.

"Oh," Poe walked over and opened the door, "Hey." His eyes focused on the wide grin of Finn's face. Those pearly whites never failed to make Poe blush. He had some sort of atmosphere leaking off of him, a calm one.

Finn pushed by him and sat the drinks on the kitchen counter, Rose followed close behind.

"Sorry I think I fell asleep." Poe rubbed his eyes.

"You think? Dude, your hair is a mess." Rose laughed.

Poe looked at Finn unenthusiastically.

Finn put his arm around Rose, "She's not wrong." He laughed silently.

Poe grunted and headed into his room to fix himself up.

Another knock on the door as Rey and Ben arrived.

Finn opened the door and welcomed them in, "Rey and Ben are here Poe!" He yelled.

Poe rushed to slam his door shut.

"Everything ok?" Finn leaned against the door.

"Uh...yes."

"You sure? Your door is locked.

"Yup. Perfect," Poe flung open his door, "See, everything is great." He put on a desperate smile.

Finn laughed and grabbed Poe's shoulder, "Ok bud, relax." He walked with Poe back to the living room where everyone found themselves to a seat.

"Hey, Poe!" Ben shot up and forced his hand to Poe's.

"Hi," Poe's hand cramped from Ben squeezing it so hard, "Ow!"

"Oh, my bad." Ben smirked and pushed Poe in the shoulder then walked back to his seat.

Poe rubbed his hand and sat down next to the coffee table on the floor.

"So...how has everyone been?" Rose smiled and looked around at everyone.

Everyone stayed silent.

Finn noticed Rey and Poe were avoiding making eye contact, "Ok enough of this," He picked up a few drinks and passed them out, "Drink," He popped off the cap, "Hopefully it'll take the edge off and you two will get over it. It's been 4 years for god's sake!"

"You're right," Rey popped off the cap of her beer, "I'm done being weird towards you Poe, I want to move forward." She raised her drink.

Poe removed the cap from his drink and looked at Rey. He noticed the same sparkle in her eyes she had the first day they met. Her lips looked so smooth, Poe just wanted to force his face on hers.

Rey waved the bottle around.

Poe snapped out of it, "Me too." He clinked his bottle to Rey's then took a long drink, "Oh I almost forgot," He nearly choked on the beer, "I got a job. With the 'Resistance Writing co.'."

"Like the one my mom runs?" Ben asked.

"What?"

"Leia Organa, the president of that company, she's my mom." Ben laughed.

"Wow. Small world." Poe brought his drink back to his mouth.

Before long, they had drunken enough drinks to not be in control of their own mind. Rey had shifted to the floor beside Rose, Finn was laid across the chair, Poe was standing on the coffee table and Ben remained on the couch.

"I got a feeling, woohoo." Poe wobbled around whilst singing "I've Gotta Feeling" By Black Eyed Peas.

Ben got up to turn up the speaker.

Rey and Rose were laughing non stop at Poe.

Finn had already passed out.

Poe threw his hands in the air and drenched himself with the remainder of his beer, "Oopsie," He looked down at his shirt and stepped off the table, heading towards his room, "I'm gonna go get a new shirt."

Rey crawled away from Rose and got up to her feet. She followed Poe to his room.

Poe threw off his shirt and started rummaging for another.

Rey quietly closed the bedroom door behind her and leaned against it.

Poe jumped, "Oh...hi," His eyes looked Rey up and down. He saw she was biting her lip and had a desperate look in her eye, "Are you ok?"

Rey slowly leaned towards him and pressed her fingers under his chin, "Yup, perfect," She pressed her lips against his, "See, everything is great." She forced her lips back to Poe.

Poe enjoyed the kiss, it was everything he imagined to be with her, aggressive but soft. All of a sudden he pushed her away, "We're drunk. You have a boyfriend."

Rey turned around and locked the door, "Yes, but I can tell you want this. You have for a while now, sorry to make you wait." She pulled off her shirt.

Poe took a few steps back and fell onto his bed, "No, this isn't right. Maybe I do want you, maybe I always have. This is no way to get what I want."

Rey slipped off her pants as she walked towards him. She brushed her hand over the side of Poe's face and straddled herself on his lap.

Poe held his breath, trying to hold back his erection, "Please get off me."

Rey's hands caressed up Poe's chest, "I want you." She smiled and looked into his eyes.

Poe fell under some spell as he noticed that same sparkle in her eyes from before. The calm and friendly look. He felt safe and wanted to hold Rey in his arms all night long. He stopped holding back.

Rey giggled at the feeling of his excitement. She forced her lips to Poe's with her hands holding the sides of his neck.

Poe gave into her touch. His hands reached behind her and unhook her bra, then they brushed over her breasts.

Poe moved his lips to her neck, causing Rey to moan.

Everyone fell asleep at Poe's apartment eventually. They all slept soundly.

Poe jerked awake by the sound of his alarm, "Shit," He whispered as he noticed Rey lying naked beside him. He jumped out of bed and looked around his room, "No no no. What happened last night?"

Rey slowly woke and reached her arm out, looking for someone laying next to her. She too jumped out of bed when she realized she wasn't in her own bed.

"Oh my god!" Poe reached down and grabbed a shirt from the floor, covering his waist. He quickly shut his eyes and turned away from Rey.

"Ahh!" She screamed and pulled a blanket off the bed to cover herself, "Why are you in here?"

"This is my apartment, remember? It's my bedroom!"

"Wait but why...oh no did we?"

"I hope not, that would be really...not...good. Holy shit Ben is going to kill me."

The doorknob juggled, "Is everything ok in there? Why is this locked?" Ben asked.

"Uhh sorry, give me a second!" Poe searched around for pants. He threw Rey her clothes off the floor. He hobbled over to the door and unlocked it to find Ben on the other side, "H-hey Ben!" He nervously smiled.

Ben looked Poe up and down and noticed his pants weren't zipped, "Um, have you seen Rey?"

"Rey?" He looked over to her and back to Ben, "Can you describe what she looks like?"

Ben pushed the door open and saw Rey getting dressed, "What the hell? What did you do to her?" He shoved Poe into a wall.

"I- I didn't, I didn't do anything!"

Ben pulled Poe away from the wall and forced him to it again, harder, "Did you sleep with my girlfriend? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I didn't! At least I don't remember doing anything." Poe looked down at the ground.

"Let's go, Ben." Rey was fully dressed and standing beside him.

Ben looked over to Rey and exhaled, "Give me a second," He looked back at Poe with so much anger in his eyes. He clenched his fist and punched him in the face, leaving Poe with a black eye, "You ass hole!"

Finn and Rose walked over and saw what was going on, "Oh my god!" Rose gasped.

"Ben, I'm leaving with or without you." Rey pulled at his shirt.

"I'm done. Let's go." They both left Poe's apartment.

Poe sank to the ground and started crying in pain.

"Why did he hit you?" Finn knelt down beside him.

Rose disappeared to the kitchen.

"Does that man need a reason to hit me? He hates me for existing!" Poe covered his face, embarrassed.

Rose returned with a bad of ice covered in a washcloth and handed it to Finn.

Finn held the ice out to Poe, "He doesn't hate you for existing. You know why he hates you." His voice was soft and soothing.

Poe grabbed the ice and put it to his face, "A dumb poem for an even dumber person."

Finn rubbed the back of Poe's neck, "Did you sleep with her?"

Poe enjoyed having Finn's hand on his skin, "I don't remember. I remember her sitting on me, but other than that all I remember is finding out I work for Ben's mom," Poe looked to Finn and stood up quickly, "Work. Oh my god, I'm going to be so late for work!" He handed the ice back to Finn and ran to put on a shirt.

"When do you have to be at work?" Rose asked.

Poe picked up his wallet, key, and laptop and shoved them into his briefcase. He picked up his phone and checked the time, "Like 10 minutes ago," He pushed past Finn and Rose and headed for the front door, "Lock the door when you guys leave!" He yelled as he closed the door behind him. _"This is great, amazing, wonderful. I'm late to my first day of work, to my dream job. Can you get fired on your first day?"_ Poe's thoughts were spiraling as he speed-walked to his workplace. Yes, walked. He couldn't afford a car or an uber, but it was only a 20-minute walk anyway. He got into the elevator of the building and fixed his clothes as it went up. He looked down and realized he still hadn't zipped up his pants. He moved his hands to pull the zipper as the elevator doors opened. He stepped out of the elevator and observed the room. On either side of him were groups of cubicles and in front of him was a path leading to Leia's office. His heart sank to his stomach when his eyes caught someone quickly leaving her office. He started to slowly walk towards her office, _"Dear god please let Leia not recognize me."_ He tried to prepare himself for what was going to happen once he walked through the door. He knocked quietly.

"Come in." Leia's tone was frustrated.

Poe opened the door and closed it behind him. He stood in front of her desk, "Hi," He cleared his throat, "I'm Poe...Poe Dameron. You hired me recently."

"Ah, Poe Dameron," She flipped through some papers on her desk, "You're late."

Poe's mouth grew dry, "Yes, I'm so very sorry about that. I had a rough night and slept through my alarm."

"Did I ask why?" Leia looked directly at Poe. She noticed Poe's swollen eye, "What happened to you?"

He gulped, "Oh uh nothing." He wasn't dumb enough to tell his boss that her son punched him, especially with the circumstances it happened under.

"Huh...ok," Leia looked back down at the papers on her desk, "Dameron...Dameron...Where have I heard that name before?"

Poe grew nervous and anxiously looked around the room, _"Oh no, here it comes."_

Leia shot up out of her chair, "Oh my god! You and my Ben went to school together!"

Poe nervously smiled, "Yep, that's me."

Leia's smile turned into a frown, "Oh, that's right," she returned to her seat and adjusted her shirt collar. She looked back at the papers on her desk, "That thing with the girl."

Poe's nails dug into his palms.

"You called for me?" Someone suddenly opened the door.

Poe exhaled, relieved.

Leia's eyes shot up, "Yes I did, this is Poe. Poe this is Hux, he is your mentor and your cubicle neighbor. He is going to show you where your cubicle is. But before you go, here is your first assignment." She handed Poe a folder.

"Thank you so much uh, mam."

"Please, call me Leia."

"Leia, yes. Thank you." Poe left the office with Hux.

"I know Leia already introduced me, but I'm Hux." He held out his hand to Poe.

"Hi, I'm Poe." He shook Hux's hand.

"Yeah, I got that haha. Follow me," He led Poe to his cubicle, "This is your work station, and as Leia said, I'm right next to you. So if you need help or have any questions, I'm right here." He smiled and sat down.

"Thanks." Poe sat down at his desk and removed his laptop from his bag and laid it onto the surface. He slid his hand over the polished wood desktop, imagining working here every day.

"It's a desk, why are you drooling?" Hux laughed as he leaned back in his chair.

Poe leaned back in his chair and his smile grew, "I never thought I would get this job. I still don't believe it!"

Hux leaned over and pinched Poe on the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Poe rubbed his arm.

"To prove to you you're in reality." Hux smirked.

Poe leaned forward to open the folder Leia gave him but was interrupted by his phone buzzing. Poe rushed to see what the notification was, it was a text from Finn, _"Just left your apartment. Rose insisted on cleaning up a little before we left, I made sure the door was locked. Have a great first day at work!"_ The message had a few varieties of smiling emojis afterward. Poe dropped his head into his palm and giggled softly.

"Uh oh, what's that look for?"

Poe snapped out of it and put his phone to the side, "Oh uh no one, uh nothing." He opened his laptop and held Leia's folder in his hands.

"No one? They seem like 'the one' to me!" Hux moved his chair back to his desk.

"I wish they were. They don't like me like that, plus they have a girlfriend."

"Youch."

Poe looked at the wall separating him and Hux, "Why am I talking to you about this?"

"I don't know," Hux laughed, "Are you one to burst when someone asks, 'Are you ok?'"

Poe imagined someone asking him that, "Why?"

Hux continued laughing, "No reason."

Poe shook his head and looked back at the folder in between his fingers, _"First assignment, this is where the fun begins."_ He flung open the folder to find a singular sticky note stuck to one side. "Love" was the only thing written on it. Poe flipped it over and checked the folder pockets, he expected there to be more. _"Love? That's it? No, 'due by next week'? No specified topic? What the hell?"_ He rolled his chair over to Hux, "I have a question."

"Yeah, what's up?" Hux turned his chair around.

"Is it normal for the assignments to be given in uh, sticky note form?" He held up the note.

"Yup." Hux returned to his work.

Poe scooted his chair closer to Hux, "Seriously? Shouldn't I be given more to base my writing off of?"

"Leia likes freedom. It's your job to take the article where you want it. You're in charge of your writing, just how Leia likes it."

Poe rolled his eyes and moved back to his desk. _"Love. Ha, perfect. Give the love article to the one guy who is loveless. Family doesn't love him, friends don't love him. I don't even have anyone to wake up next to and hold close in the early hours of the morning."_ Poe laid his hands over his keyboard and stared at the blank page of his document. He pressed one key, 'H'. He immediately deleted it and pressed his hands onto his forehead, his fingers combed through his hair as his back met his chair, _"This is great. I've got nothing. I'll have nothing after I lose my job because I couldn't complete my first assignment."_ He spun his chair around and sighed.

He spent the rest of the workday staring at the screen. Eventually, he fell asleep. Hux was packing up and getting ready to leave and woke Poe on his way out, "Hey." He shook his shoulder.

"Huh? What?" Poe wiped away the drool on his lip, keeping his eyes closed.

A smile peered through Hux's lips, "The day is over, you can go home."

Poe sat up and looked at the still blank document on his computer, "I didn't do anything, I have nothing written."

"First days can be hard. Go home and get some rest, you'll need it for tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?"

"We have a meeting with Leia. It's where we talk about our progress on our articles."

"Well, that's great! I'm gonna get fired." Poe closed his computer and slid it into his bag.

Hux leaned against the desk and looked directly at Poe, "You have had one day to write, she won't expect anything. Why do you think Leia is gonna give up on you so easily?"

"I don't know." Poe avoided looking at Hux as he stood up and headed towards the elevator.

Hux rushed to the front of him. His eyes were glued to Poe's. He searched for something to tell him why Poe gave up so fast, why he didn't believe in anyone, not even himself. He took a step back and pressed the elevator button, "Are you ok?"

Those words almost annoyed Poe as they slipped out from Hux's lips. His eyes rose from the floor to meet Hux's. No one ever asked him that, no one seemed to care about his well being. "Why do you care?" The elevator doors opened and they both walked in.

"You know, some people actually want to help you." Hux stood facing Poe.

Poe leaned the side of his head to the side of the elevator, making sure Hux was not in his sight and rolled his eyes.

"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Because I'm not going to tell someone I just met how I feel!" Poe blurted.

Hux started to walk slowly to Poe's side, "Regardless of when we met, I'm concerned."

Poe crossed his arms, "Well, I don't care if you're concerned." He wondered what was taking the elevator so long.

Hux leaned in front of Poe and pressed a button, stopping the elevator.

"What the hell? Now you're holding me hostage?" Poe uncrossed his arms and reached to push the elevator controls.

Hux pushed him back with a hand to his shoulder, "Sit."

Poe held his breath and looked into Hux's eyes. They were genuine and sad. "Maybe he does want to help." Poe sat down.

Hux followed him to the floor and crossed his legs, "I know we just met, but I'm supposed to help you. Leia sat you next to me so that you can have a shoulder to grab onto when you need it."

"I'm pretty sure she meant for it to be for work issues, not my personal crap."

"I don't think she meant for me to let you tear yourself apart. What is so wrong with telling a friend how you feel?"

Poe thought about Rey and Finn, "Because most of the time, they don't give a shit about your feelings. They just wanna make themselves feel good by making it seem like they want to help. When in reality, they want nothing to do with you." He clenched his jaw.

Hux looked down at his hands, "I used to bite my nails."

Poe looked up at him, confused.

"I uh, dealt with some really bad anxiety in high school. Once I found the right people, I talked to them about it and they got me help. Soon after graduation, I stopped."

Poe scoffed, "That's your response?"

Hux's eyes shot up.

"You beg and plead for me to talk to you so that you can try and relate? You are the exact reason I never talk to people about my emotions."

"No that isn't it at all! Please," Hux scooted closer to Poe and laid a hand on his knee, "I wasn't trying to relate. I was just trying to show you it's human to be not okay. You don't have to feel like you're a bad person for being unhappy."

Poe's eyes swung from Hux's hand to his eyes. His soft yet bold green eyes screamed "It's ok" and it made Poe's heart flutter. A tear fell down his cheek, "You asked me earlier if I was one to explode when someone asked me 'Are you ok?' I didn't answer then but I used to be. I used to be someone to pour out my heart and soul out when those words slid out from someone's mouth."

"What changed?" Hux's fingers rubbed over Poe's kneecap.

"What changed is that," Poe took a deep breath, trying to stop himself from sobbing on the spot, "What changed is that I got hurt. People stopped caring about me, they stopped asking me if I was ok. They pushed me into a corner of non-existence. I stopped believing that people could care," He put his hand on top of Hux's, "I felt alone in a room full of people."

Hux blushed slightly, "You feel like your head is spinning but you can see straight."

Poe smiled slightly and his eyes connected with Hux's, "Yes, exactly!" His smile faded as he found himself peering over Hux's frowning lips, "I shouldn't be saying anything." He moved his hand away from his knee and picked at his nails. His eyes dropped to his hands.

Hux brought a hand to Poe's chin and lifted it, "Tell me more."

Poe's face grew warm with the soft touch of Hux's hand, "I- I uh," He blinked hard, trying to push away the tears, "I got together with my old friends last night and ended up having sex with a girl I used to like who is now taken by the guy who bullied me all throughout high school and he thinks I raped her."

Hux removed his hand from Poe's chin, "Oh wow," He looked at Poe's eye that had begun to bruise, "I assume that's' his doing?" He reached to touch it.

Poe felt Hux's soft skin on his sore face, and did nothing to stop it at first, "Yeah..." He pushed Hux's hand away when he realized all that he said, "Goddammit!" He pulled his knees into his chest and dug his fingers into his scalp, pulling at his hair, "Why do I keep talking!"

"No, stop!" Hux ripped Poe's hands away from his head, "You needed to get this off your chest, out of your mind. It seems kinda crowded in there." He watched as Poe's eyes flooded.

Poe's chin quivered, "I'm too much for myself. I'm tearing myself apart from the inside out." He dropped his head and sobbed.

Hux pressed Poe's hands together and examined every detail on them, "You bite your nails."

Poe tried to catch his breath and moved his sight to his hands.

Hux slid his grip around Poe's fingers, "You're tearing up the skin too."

Poe yanked his hands away, "So what."

Hux couldn't think of a verbal response so he pulled at Poe's knees, moving them away from his chest. He watched as tears continued to run down Poe's cheeks and hang off his chin. He carefully brushed away the tears and kept his hand on his chin. His eyes swayed over Poe's lips as he started to pull him closer.

Poe's eyes bounced between Hux's eyes and lips. Eventually, they caught sight of the elevator buttons behind Hux, causing Poe to reach over and resume the elevator in one movement. He froze for a moment as his eyes blinked back to Hux's.

Hux cleared his throat and moved away from Poe, standing up.

Poe clenched his hand into a fist as he stood, _"Was he about to kiss me?"_ He turned to Hux and opened his mouth to speak.

The elevator doors squeaked open and Hux rushed out, without saying goodbye.

Poe thought about going after him but figured it wouldn't do him much good. _"Ha, kiss me? Did I really think someone would want to do that when they're sober?"_ He shook his head and walked home.

When he entered his house, the memories from last night rushed over him. He could see Rey and Rose giggling on the floor, Ben sitting on the couch and Finn passed out in the chair of his living room. He dropped his bag onto his desk and headed to the kitchen for a beer. He looked at the bottle and could hear Finn, _"It's been four years for god's sake!"_ He squeezed his eyes shut trying to get his voice out of his head. He popped the cap off and walked to his bedroom door. When he touched the handle he could hear Ben, _"Is everything ok in there?"_ His hands started to shake. He rushed to close the door behind him as he slid into the room. He took a large swig of his beer and looked at the dent his head made in the wall. His eye ached from the memory of Ben's fist in it. He sat the beer on his nightstand and flopped onto his bed. He gripped the sheets and closed his eyes. He had no memory of him and Rey doing it, nothing. _"God I wish I did."_ He sat up and grabbed his beer, taking another long drink. He opened up his phone to see no messages from anyone. He had gone the whole day with no one texting him. He tossed his phone to the edge of his bed, _"They are never going to talk to me again. I've lost them again, and it's my fault, again."_ Tears fogged Poe's vision as he took one last swig of his beer. He exhaled as he pulled off his jeans and tried to hold back the tears that were trying to force themselves out. He slid under the covers and closed his eyes. Images of Rey and Finn shined bright in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to get them to fade. Poe pulled the covers tighter and higher, up to his neck. He curled his knees into his chest and took a deep breath in. He listened to the silence of his apartment for a few minutes before unleashing the gut-wrenching sobs that had been waiting to erupt. He cried for what felt like hours, before falling asleep.

The beeping of Poe's alarm woke him up on time today. He crawled to the edge of his bed and stood up, stretching. His eyes itched from crying all night. He got ready as usual and headed to work. Walking into the building, he prepared himself for the writing he would have to accomplish on this day and pressed to call for the elevator. He started to hear footsteps coming up behind him, he turned his head to find Hux walking towards him. Blood rushed into his cheeks as he snapped his head around. They both entered the elevator, avoiding eye contact. Poe contemplated saying something. Something that would break the ice, _"'Hey I'm sorry I avoided your kiss!' No that's horrible, it makes him know that I knew I was avoiding a kiss. How about 'Hey were you going to kiss me yesterday?' God, I suck at this."_ He brought the palm of his hand to his head. His eyes found their way over to Hux, who looked extremely tense. Poe's eyes softened, "I'm-" He was cut off by the elevator doors screeching open. Hux calmly walked out and headed to his desk. Poe was determined to talk to Hux, and seeing as they sat right next to each other, there was a slim chance Hux could avoid him. He plopped into his chair and pulled out his laptop, just like the day before. Poe had a notebook that he used for planning his writing in the front pocket of his bag, which he pulled out and tore out a piece of paper. He wrote something on it and lightly crumbled it up before tossing it over to Hux. It landed right on Hux's keyboard. Hux rolled his eyes and opened it up, "Are you mad at me?" Was written on it, along with a few frowny faces. Hux smiled a little and wrote "Yes" On the bottom before he tossed it back to Poe. Poe's leg was bouncing in anticipation as the paper landed back on his desk. He rushed to open it up and was upset to see what Hux had written. He tightened his grip on the paper before forcing it into an unfoldable ball. He had found someone that actually wanted to hear his thoughts and he screwed it up on the first day. He pushed himself away from his desk and over to Hux, "Look, I'm sorry I avoided your kiss yesterday. I just didn't think it was the right thing to do at that moment so I-" He stopped speaking when he heard Hux's laughter, "...What? What's so funny?"

Hux turned his chair around, "Dude, I'm not actually mad at you."

"Really? But you said-"

"I was kidding! I get why you dodged my kiss, It wasn't ok for me to do that. You were hurt and I just wanted to make you feel better, that was the wrong way to do it. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

Poe's cheeks became flushed, "Yeah, you should be." He smirked.

Hux crossed his arms, "Well then, I'm sorry."

Leia flung open her office door and stepped out with a notepad and pen in hand, "Alright everyone! Stop what you're doing, it's time for our weekly meeting."

"Weekly?" Poe whispered.

Hux shoved Poe, and his chair, over to his side and shook his head.

Leia talked to everyone about their assignments and progress on them. She saved Poe for last, "And lastly, Poe. How are you doing?"

 _"My mental health is crippling but otherwise horrible, how about you?"_ Poe thought as he tapped on the desk, "Oh uh good."

Leia took a few steps closer to him, "I gave you your assignment yesterday, are you sure you are doing 'good'?"

Poe could feel the sweat forming on his forehead, "Yes. Everything is great, thank you." He smiled and held his breath.

"Ok then," Leia turned around and headed back to her office, "That's all everyone. Back to work!"

The sound of her office door closing uplifted the stress from Poe. He exhaled and put his head down on his desk.

"Why do you take her so seriously? She is just trying to make sure you are working ok." Hux knocked on the wall between him and Poe.

"She's my boss! I'm supposed to do the work so that she is happy, satisfied with my work."

"That's where you're wrong. Leia wants us to do our work, our way. That's why she doesn't tell us what to do often, just make sure what we are doing is good."

Poe lifted his head and dropped it back to the desk, "Kinda hard to do when I'm doing nothing," He sat back in his chair, "I still have no idea what I'm going to write."

The rest of the workday was rough, it seemed that's how they all were going to go. Poe still had nothing written on his document. He waved goodbye to Hux as he walked out of the building and started his walk home. About halfway home he got a text from Finn, _"Hey, I'm really sorry about Rey. She is a total ass for posting what she did. Don't let it get to your head ok?"_ Poe was confused at what he was talking about, _"Uh what do you mean? What did she post?"_ He texted back and hurried home. He frequently checked his phone as he saw the three little dots pop up and fall. Finally, he answered, _"Nothing, don't worry about it."_ That gave Poe all the reason to worry about it. He flopped onto his couch and checked Rey's social media. A post of her cuddling with Ben was captioned, _"Even though I was sexually harassed, basically raped while drunk, he still loves me. I love him ten times more now that he has asked me to be his forever. Guess I'm gonna be Mrs.Solo sooner than I thought!"_ Poe looked back at the image and swiped to find another picture of Rey and Ben, in this one Rey held her hand up to show her engagement ring. Poe's breath quickened as his eyes filled with tears. He gently put his phone on the coffee table as he stood up and headed towards the kitchen. His hands shook as he reached into a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of vodka and shot glass, then a cold beer from the fridge. Pounding the bottles onto the countertop, he flicked off the cap from the vodka and poured himself a shot. Then quickly threw the drink into his mouth. His head was tilted back as he made a painful expression from the burning alcohol in his throat. He slammed the glass back onto the table and opened his phone. He looked back at the post Rey put up and laughed. Another shot was poured and thrown down Poe's throat. Soon after, a few more followed. He scrolled through all the supportive comments Rey was receiving, _"I hope that your abuser is rotting in hell!"_ One read, and many more like it. Shot after shot, Poe fell into a deeper depression on the topic. If Finn were here, he would be trying his hardest to snap Poe out of it, but he wasn't. So Poe was left to navigate his thoughts alone. As if Finn could hear him, _"Please don't let this go to your head! I talked Rey out of pressing charges, seeing as you don't have the money to back yourself up in court. Text me when you get this ok?"_ Poe bit his lower lip, trying to stop himself from crying. _"She's not worth crying over, not tonight."_ He thought as he took another shot. The glass smacked onto the surface of his countertop once more, then his hand slid over the cold surface. He pulled himself up and sat down on the surface before laying on his back. He looked up at the dusty ceiling light and wondered, _"What is love? Is it truly a deep fondness of someone or something? Or is it just a word for people to abuse and neglect. Was it meant to distract people from their real quest in life, or was it made to be something that tested one's ability to focus? I'll never know, no one loves me."_ Those words cut deeper into Poe's soul then he intended. But it also spiked an idea, "No one loves me," He repeated, out loud this time, "I'm loveless!" He sat up and looked straight ahead with a smile beginning to peer through his lips, "That's what I need to write about. Not what love is, but how it isn't real." He hopped off the counter and wobbled to his feet. It felt like gravity was shifting, making him too dizzy to stand. He fell to the ground and looked up at the light again before closing his eyes for the night. Or so he thought. His phone began ringing and woke him in the middle of the night. His head was still spinning from the slowly fading alcohol in his system. The vibration from his phone made it bounce to the edge of the counter, and fall. With the fogged vision Poe had from just waking up, he lunged forward and caught it. "Alright, alright!" He yelled at the phone trying to answer it, "Hello?"

There was angry heavy breathing on the other end.

Poe rubbed his eyes, "Hellooooo? Is anyone there?"

"Just because Rey doesn't want to see you get hurt, doesn't mean I don't!"

Poe realized exactly who was on the other end, "Ben?"

"Yes, it's Ben! Who else's girlfriend did you rape?" He started to yell.

"I didn't rape her!" Poe threw his head to the wall, "Is that what she said happened? She told you I raped her?"

"Yes! She told me exactly what you did to her that night. Every little detail. From when you pushed her back onto your bed to when you woke up the next morning."

Then it hit Poe, _"I only saw Rey grab one drink that night. She could have been very capable to stop her own actions if she only had that one drink I saw her with."_ The realization hit him harder than a bus. But he decided telling Ben his girlfriend was close to sober, wasn't going to help the situation. He shook his head, "Even if everything she said is true, why would I rape her? I don't even like her like that anymore." He knew the words coming out of his mouth were lies.

"Ha! You really expect me to believe that you, Poe Dameron, no longer have feelings for Rey? As if! Your feelings for her still exist, I could see it on your face when we arrived at your apartment. You raped her because you still like her but couldn't deal with the fact she doesn't feel the same."

Poe's nails dug into his palm, "If you're so certain that she doesn't feel the same then why do you feel so insecure about your relationship with her, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"You felt so insecure after she claimed I raped her, that you had to propose! You needed to tie the knot to ensure she was yours! Guess what! She's her own person! You can't own her!" Poe was yelling in the emptiness of his home.

Ben's breathing was so intense it was almost a growl, "Keep your doors locked Dameron." He hung up.

Poe dropped the hand with his phone to his side and rolled his eyes. _"This guy wants to kill me."_ He thought, _"He's capable of it too. Well, better get my will written."_ He stood up and grabbed onto the counter to stabilize himself. The nearly empty vodka bottle and the unopened beer remained on the counter. Poe glanced over at the clock above his oven, 5:00 am. He sighed and leaned forward, resting his head onto the cold countertop. His phone buzzed, receiving a text from Rey. When he saw it, he assumed it was going to be a warning message. Saying Ben left the house with a shotgun and Poe should make a run for it while he could. But when he opened it, he read, _"Hey I don't know if you're awake, but whenever you see this, please don't ignore it."_ Poe rolled his eyes again, "Great start." Then he continued reading, _"I know you and Ben don't get along, and you and I haven't always been the best of friends. But I would really appreciate it if you still considered attending our wedding. It's going to be a small one so just Ben's family and friends. Feel free to bring a plus one. Thank you, I'm sorry about all the drama. I hope you'll forgive me."_ Poe chuckled at the last line. Below the message was an image of the date and time of the ceremony, it was this week. Hot tears were beginning to make streams on his face as he tried to blink them away. _"The bride thinks I raped her and the groom wants to kill me for it. Sounds like a great ceremony!"_ He read over the last line, _"You are the reason for all the drama, always. But I never fail to forgive you. I always find a way to see where you're coming from and make what you did seem ok. I'm having a hard time seeing you as the good guy this time."_ He quickly turned off his phone and gently laid it on the countertop. His eyes caught sight of the vodka bottle and shot glass like they were calling out to him. He reached out and pulled them towards him, pouring another shot and tossing it down, trying to drink away the pain of the night. His hand brushed over the label of the bottle and picked it up. His grip tightened around the base of the bottle, almost enough to shatter the glass in his hand. But Poe knew better than to do that. Instead, he closed his eyes and thought very hard about his feelings, _"I'm overwhelmed, I'm upset, I'm unhappy, I'm disappointed, I'm ashamed, I'm confused, I'm scared, I'm angry."_ His eyes shot open as he concluded his thought. They locked onto a spot on the wall in front of Poe, and his grip on the bottled tightened even more. He took a deep breath in before chucking the bottle, screaming out all his pain. The bottle smacked into the wall and shattered into a million fragments. Poe's face was becoming more and more soaked in tears as his scream faded into a cry. He wobbled over to the other side of the counter and picked up the beer. He tried to catch his breath as his eyes lined up with the wall once more. With all of his strength, he threw the bottle and yelled once more. Again, the bottle shattered upon impact. Poe fell onto his knees and folded himself into the fetal position, crying his heart out. The heart that he felt no one loved.

Poe fell asleep, on the cold tile floor, and slept through most of the next day. His extremely dehydrated self woke to pounding on his front door. He slowly sat up and checked his surroundings. His muscles felt stuck, sore almost. The pounding continued as Poe leaned forward and rolled onto his back. "Poe! Wake up! I know you're not dead! At least I hope not." Someone outside yelled. Poe continued to lay there, numb to everything going on. Eyes glued to the ceiling. The pounding intensified, "Poe! For god's sake Poe! Please...open the door!" They sounded like they were on the verge of tears, "Please." They whimpered, then the pounding stopped. Poe enjoyed the silence only for a moment before he gathered enough strength to get to his feet. As he fumbled to the door he rubbed his eyes and yawned. The door creaked open and revealed Finn cowering on the doorstep. Finn sat up and wiped his nose, "You're alive," he laughed as he rose to his feet. He threw his hands onto Poe's shoulders, gripping them in an attempt to make sure Poe was really there, "You look horrible," He laughed and pushed himself into the house. Finn caught sight of the broken glass in the corner of the kitchen floor, "Rough night I see." He immediately went to clean it all up.

Poe closed the door and rushed after him, "Yep. It's just some broken bottles, nothing major."

Finn knelt down and started to pile the shards in the palm of his hand.

Poe crouched down, "You don't have to do that." He quickly joined Finn in gathering the glass.

"It's ok, I got it."

"Finn please, I'm not your mess to clean up." Poe was being messy with his cleaning.

"Poe, I promise-"

"Ow, shit!" Poe got cut by the glass. He immediately dropped all the glass from his hand and forced pressure on the wound with the other.

Finn watched as Poe's hand leaked with blood, "Where's your first aid kit?"

Poe pointed to a cabinet.

Finn got up and brought the first aid kit to Poe's side, "I told you I had it."

"And I told you I'm not your mess to clean."

Finn pulled Poe's hands apart and touched around the wound.

"Uh, ow! What the hell!" Poe tried to pull his hand away.

"Sit still." Finn looked closer at the cut.

Poe obeyed and sat completely still. Or as still as he could with someone mangling with a tear in his skin. He watched as Finn searched every last germ on the surface of his hand.

Finn looked back to the first aid kit and rummaged for a bandage, "It doesn't seem deep enough for stitches, so I'll just wrap it to avoid infection."

Poe loved it when Finn went all doctor mode, "Thanks doc." He sneered, his eyes never steering from Finn's face.

"Of course," He used sanitary wipes to clean the wound then started to wrap Poe's hand, "What would you do without me?" His eyes locked with Poe's.

Poe's cheeks grew rosy and his mouth grew dry. He knew better than to make a move on him but he wanted to so badly, "How long were you sitting outside my door?"

Finn's eyes went back to Poe's hand as he chuckled, "As long as I needed to be for you to answer."

"A long time?"

"Maybe like an hour or two." He tightened the bandage and secured it.

"Really?"

"Yup." Finn moved to face Poe, and let go of his hand.

 _"Finn is the only person I know that would take two hours out of his day to pound on my door. He's the only one that seems to care, even a little."_ Poe thought as his eyes took in every last detail of Finn's face, more specifically his lips, _"They are so kissable. I wish I could just...grab his face and pull him in."_ His heart started to race faster and faster as the thoughts ran full speed ahead.

Finn noticed Poe's mind was elsewhere, "You ok?" He put a hand on Poe's knee and gently shook it.

That touch made Poe's heart sink to his toes. He thought about how much he wished for Finn to brush his hand all the way up to his neck. His breath became unsteady and he, ever so slightly, moved towards Finn, "Yeah, I'm fine. Perfect almost." He smiled with his lips, eyes still locked with Finn's.

"Almost perfect? That seems like an overstatement." His pearly whites slid into view as Finn smiled.

Poe's breath was so quick he sounded like he just got back from a jog, "I don't think so." He leaned more and more forward.

Finn didn't move away, he sat perfectly still as Poe's lips approached his. It was as if he wanted the same thing Poe did, to kiss. As Poe grew closer, Finn slowly grazed his hand up Poe's side, landing on the side of his neck.

A shiver ran down Poe's spine, _"Can he read my mind?"_ He smiled slightly as his mouth fell partially open, centimeters away from Finn's.

Their eyes frantically moved from each other's lips, then back to each other's eyes. "Poe..." Finn whispered as he moved his lips even closer to Poe's.

"Yeah?" Poe whispered and pushed his hand onto Finn's thigh. His nails dug into the denim jeans, pressing into his skin.

Finn gasped slightly then moved his hand to the back of Poe's neck, their lips still only millimeters away from each other.

The feeling of Finn's breath on Poe's skin gave him goosebumps. He lightly bit his lip before exhaling one more time. Then he did what he had wanted to do for so long, kiss him. He pressed his lips against Finn's and they were much softer than he had imagined. They both smiled into the kiss, realizing the moment was perfect.

Finn moved his other hand to Poe's waist and pulled him forward. He laid back onto the floor, pulling Poe on top of him. The hand on Poe's waist made its way underneath his shirt and up to his chest.

Poe panicked slightly when Finn's hand brushed over his stomach. He kept his eyes closed as the kiss intensified. He slid his grip of Finn's thigh up slightly, increasing his grip upon arrival.

Finn moaned lightly and tried to pull Poe's face closer to his.

Poe's hand slid up and under Finn's shirt, resting over his heart. He could feel the intense heartbeat radiating in his own chest begin to sync with Finn's.

Finn forced more and more of himself into the kiss. He made it seem like he had been waiting as long as Poe for this moment. His phone buzzed in his front pocket.

Poe gasped and pulled away, laughing, "Woah there."

Finn sat up and checked his phone, "It's Rose. I have to go." He stood up and quickly headed for the door.

Poe shot up and bolted to the front of Finn, "You're just gonna leave?"

"Yeah?"

"Right after," He waved his hand in the direction of the room that was sitting in, "All that? Seriously?"

Finn seemed conflicted, "I have a girlfriend."

"And I have...well...nothing! But I could have you." Poe grabbed onto Finn's arms and pouted.

"I don't know," Finn looked deep into Poe's eyes, "I can't hurt Rose."

Poe released Finn's arms and looked at the ground, "I get it. I just thought what just went on, meant we had something. I tried to push past being friends, sorry."

Finn lifted Poe's chin and kissed him again, "Don't apologize, you are more than that to me. You're so much more." He opened the front door and walked out.

Poe quietly closed the door then looked to his bandaged hand, _"What does he mean I'm more than friends to him? If I'm more, then why was it so easy for him to walk out my door?"_ He walked back into the kitchen and cleaned up the remaining glass shards carefully. Once he finished cleaning up the kitchen, it was 9:00 pm. Poe thought he would spend the next few hours writing, or trying to. He remembered the idea he had the night before about how love isn't real. But if he truly believed that, how did he feel about Finn? He realized that he, once again, had nothing. It seemed like a better thing to worry about during the workday in the morning.

So when he arrived at work the next day, he forced every last brain cell into writing. No worrying about Finn, Rey, or Ben. Though. not much was accomplished. _"Love is complicated."_ Was all he could get out onto his document. He rolled his chair over to Hux's desk, hoping he could pass some time bugging him. "Mr.Hugs!" He exclaimed, then noticed Hux wasn't at his desk. _"That's weird. It's not his lunch hour, he should be here."_ Poe stood up and searched around the desk for a note saying where he was. His desk was completely clean, left just as it was the night prior. He asked the person at the desk in front of Hux's, "Have you seen Hux today?" They responded with only a nasty glare. Poe rolled his eyes and exhaled. His next thought was to ask Leia, if she wasn't busy. So he walked over to her office and knocked.

"Come in." Leia seemed in better spirits today.

Poe opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Mr.Dameron good to see you! How is your writing coming along?" She sat at her desk with her hands folded in front of her and a gentle smile on her face.

"Oh good. Amazing." He was lying.

Leia cocked her head to the side, "Poe, that's what you told me in our weekly meeting. It's ok if things aren't great. Take it at your own pace, no rush."

Poe felt more comfortable after hearing those words, "Well, I'm not actually here to talk about my writing, if that's ok?" He put his hand into his front pockets.

Leia leaned back in her seat, "Of course it is."

He walked closer to her desk, "Did Hux come in today? I had a question for him but he isn't at his desk."

Leia ruffled through some papers, "He called in sick today. He wouldn't say why though."

Poe started to worry about Hux and showed it on his face, "Called in sick." He combed his hand through his hair as he stared off into the distance, away from Leia.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he just has a cold or some 24-hour bug. He should be back in tomorrow."

Poe looked back to Leia with a fake smile, "Yeah, no no yeah. Thank you." He then scurried out of her office and back to his desk. _"Relax,"_ He told himself, _"He called in sick. Why am I freaked out about this?"_ He tried to get back to work. Only then did he remember he had Hux's number. As if there was a timer about to go off, Poe pulled out his phone and raced to open his messages. He texted Hux, _"Hey, Leia told me you're sick. How long do you think you're going to be out for?"_ He pressed send and smacked his phone face down to try and avoid watching the screen. Poe took a deep breath and hovered his hands over the keyboard. He closed his eyes and thought about love. What it meant to him. He could see the images of his family and Rey fading away. Finn with a wide grin became a larger and brighter image, alongside a soft, unfocused Hux. Poe thought deeper about what these people meant to him and how they equaled love in his mind. His mind immediately went to him and Finn kissing beside the broken glass of his kitchen floor. He could almost feel Finn's hand on the back of his neck. He could feel his body grow warm, then his phone buzzed, snapping him out of the daydream. He looked around to grasp onto his surroundings before he turned over his phone. He was shocked to find a text from Finn, rather than Hux. _"I'm really starting to believe he can read my mind."_ He started to smile. Poe opened the message and read, _"Hey is there any way I can come over later tonight?"_ Poe responded, _"Sure, I don't see why not. Any reason why?"_ He sat his phone back down and looked back to his computer. A few seconds later Finn responded, _"I broke up with Rose."_ That message caused a ringing in Poe's head. He grew light-headed and everything around him became blurry. Had Finn really broken up with Rose...for him? He tried to respond but ended up typing, _"Half leg apple"_ All by autocorrect. Luckily, he didn't hit send. His hand darted forward and grabbed onto his desk while the other gripped the phone tighter. Eventually, he could see straight again. He looked back to his phone and messaged Finn, _"So what does this mean?"_ He sat completely still as he watched Finn's typing bubble pop up. Poe leaned forward onto his desk when Finn responded, _"I'm coming over tonight."_ Followed by a singular smirking emoji. Poe smirked and crossed his legs, extremely giddy from the message. He laid his phone down and spun around his chair, his arms straight up in the air. _"I'm getting laid tonight"_ He giggled in his mind. He couldn't help to start picturing Finn with his shirt off. Before he got too dizzy, he stopped his chair from spinning and checked the time on his computer. He had 10 minutes left of work. _"Leia won't mind if I leave work a little early, will she? It's only 10 minutes!"_ He quietly closed his laptop and slid it into his bag. He tiptoed his way to the elevator and pressed to call the elevator.

"DAMERON!" Leia yelled behind him.

Poe froze. He clenched his teeth into a nervous smile and tightened his grip around his bag as he swiveled around to face her, "Yes..."

Leia crossed her arms as she stood in front of her office door, "Are you leaving work early?"

"...Maybe."

"You didn't ask to."

Poe sighed and relaxed his arms, "Permission to leave work early to meet with the love of my life?"

"Permission granted." Leia smiled and went back into her office.

Poe jumped a little and smiled, "Thank you!" The elevator arrived and he slowly backed into it. He opened his phone and texted Finn, letting him know he was on his way home. Adrenalin was practically bouncing through Poe as he waited for the elevator to open. He ran home, unable to contain his excitement to meet up with Finn. To his surprise, Finn was already sitting on his doorstep, "Hey." He smiled out of breath.

Finn stood up and walked up to Poe, "Hi."

Poe's heart was nearly beating outside his chest, "You broke up with Rose."

"Yeah, I did." Finn softly gripped onto Poe's fingers.

Poe couldn't look anywhere but at Finn. He couldn't grasp that Finn was standing right in front of him, holding his hand.

"Should we go inside?"

"Yes!" Poe said a little louder than he wanted to, "Yes." He held onto Finn's hand and walked with him to the door. He struggled to insert the key into the doorknob but when he got it in, he flung the door open, threw his bag inside, and turned around to grab Finn by his shirt collar and pull him inside.

Finn giggled softly and kicked the door closed.

Poe bit his lower lip and threw Finn's back against the door. He was almost panting while he slid closer to Finn, resting his chest on his. His eyes bounced between his eyes, lips, and chest. He felt Finn's chest rise and fall with every racing breath.

Finn smiled again and took Poe's chin in his hand. He forced their eyes to meet and noticed Poe's teeth gnawing down on his lip. Finn's thumb pulled at Poe's lip, releasing it from his bite. He then slid his hand to the back of his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

Poe leaned his hips into Finn, wedging his knee between his legs. His hands slid up the side of Finn and helped his shirt off. He wanted to be as close as possible to him.

Finn pushed Poe back for a moment. He admired Poe's face as it stood right in front of him, "You wanna..." His heart craved more.

Poe nodded and took Finn's hand. He led him into his bedroom.

Finn pulled Poe around and forced his lips to his neck. He started to pull off Poe's shirt. He got it barely above his stomach before Poe pushed his hands away.

Poe stepped back and pulled his shirt back down, crossing his arms over his stomach and turning around.

"What is it?" Finn sat down on the bed.

Poe cleared his throat, "Um," He turned back around, "I just...I don't know. It's dumb."

Finn got up and walked up to Poe, "Poe," he pulled his arms away from his stomach, "It's ok. I like you just the way you are. You don't have to hide yourself from me." His hands brushed underneath Poe's shirt and grabbed his waist.

Poe's eye's followed Finn's hands while he tried to keep his own breath steady. His head lifted to meet his sight to Finn's. The soft and calm smile he wore made Poe want to melt in his arms. _"I wish he would pull off my shirt and tear my heart out of my bare chest."_

As if he could read Poe's mind, Finn slowly slid the orange, cotton fabric off Poe's skin. Revealing all of Poe's insecurities to him.

Poe closed his eyes and exhaled while the surrounding air clung onto his skin. His eyes opened to Finn's lips pressing into his neck. Poe slid his hands around to Finn's back.

Finn pulled his lips from Poe's neck and looked into his eyes. He blurted, "I love you."

Poe's cheeks grew flustered, _"He did it again."_ He laughed softly and whispered, "Can you read my mind?"

Finn smiled back, "What?"

Poe pulled Finn closer, "I love you too." he hesitated before kissing Finn again. Once again, Finn had somehow figured out exactly what Poe wanted. _"Maybe he can read my mind. Or maybe it's pure coincidence"_ Either way Poe did love Finn, and Finn had just ripped Poe's heart out and made it his own. Poe never felt more loved then he did in the next few hours.

They laid under the thin covers of Poe's bed in silence. Poe rolled over onto his side and smiled, "That was fun."

"Yeah." Finn remained flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"What's wrong?" Poe noticed the blank face Finn wore.

"Nothing," Finn rolled over and laid his hand on Poe's cheek, "I was just thinking about the wedding."

"Rey and Ben's wedding?"

"Yeah. I don't know how to tell them Rose and I split."

Poe put his hand on top of Finn's, "Don't tell them. Show them."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Poe sarcastically coughed.

"I don't know." Finn pulled his hand away.

Poe rolled onto his back and looked at the blank ceiling.

"I just...I'm not really out to anyone yet. I don't think my best friend's wedding is the place to do that."

Poe bit his tongue, "Yeah, you're right." He hated that he and Rey were still so close even after everything that happened.

Finn put his fingers on Poe's chin and tilted his head towards him, "I really do love you."

Poe slid on a fake smile, "I love you too." and he did. Nothing had changed. He loved Finn and wanted to spend the rest of his days at his side, or at least with him in his life.

A few minutes went by before Finn sat up, "I'm gonna go."

Poe sat up, "What? Why?"

He hesitated, like he had to think of a reason to go, "I have work tomorrow," he began to reclothe himself, "And I have to study for some online classes."

"Oh," Poe relaxed his shoulders, "Can you come over tomorrow?"

"I have work." Finn straightened his shirt.

"After work?"

"I have to study."

Poe started to become sad. Was Finn making excuses to be away from him? If so why? Didn't he just say he loved him?

"I'll see you at the wedding though."

The wedding is a few days away, "Yeah. I'll see you then." His fake smile showed itself again.

Finn waved before leaving the bedroom then the apartment as a whole.

With the sound of the front door closing, Poe laid back down in his bed and curled himself into a ball, _"What am I getting myself into? A man who just broke up with his girlfriend and is best friends with the woman who claims I raped her. I don't need this in my life, but I need Finn. But he just left me all alone so easily. Like he didn't really care. Like he didn't really love me."_ His thoughts stirred for the rest of the night before he fell asleep.

The next day, Poe arrived at work on time. He sat down at his desk as usual and opened his laptop to his nearly blank document.

"How was your night?" Leia appeared beside Poe.

Poe jumped and looked at Leia, scared, "Oh uh..it was great. Thanks for asking." He started to smile.

"While I'm here," She held out a folder, "Would you mind taking this to Hux at some point today? It's his next assignment and because he is going to be working from home for the next few days I needed someone to take it to him."

Poe took the folder and tossed it onto his desk, "Wait, the next few days? I thought he only called in sick for the one day?" He rummaged for his phone and realized Hux never texted him back.

"He called in sick for the rest of the week this morning. He sounded like he had a stuffy nose so it's probably just a cold." She started to walk away.

Poe stood up from his chair, "Leia?"

"Yes?" She turned around.

"Can I go take this to Hux now? Just so he has the whole day to work on it."

Leia smiled as she continued to her office, "Sure. Please don't forget your own assignment Dameron!"

Poe quickly gathered his things and rushed out of the building. Hux's address was written on the top of the folder so Poe knew where he was headed. He triple-checked the apartment number when he arrived before knocking, "Hux? It's me, Poe. I have-"

Hux flung open the door. He found Poe standing there, out of breath from running.

Poe saw Hux in sweatpants and a hoodie. Clothing a sick person would wear. He then noticed his expression, "Are you ok?"

Hux's face was soaked in tears and his eyes started to flood with them again, "No." His chin quivered.

Poe pushed his way into Hux's apartment and dropped his things on the floor, "What's going on?"

Hux led Poe to his couch and sat down, "I uh," He struggled to speak. Tears had already started to pour out of his eyes when he pushed out, "I don't know." He leaned his head into his palms and cried.

Poe was shocked. He was confused at what to do, so he did the bare minimum. He put his arm around Hux and pulled him closer while staying completely silent.

With a small breath Hux spoke, "I'm not one to cry. Nothing ever gets to me. I'm always the one helping others when they're down. I don't know what to do, I can't help myself."

"Shh," Poe pulled Hux's head down onto his lap. He rubbed Hux's arm and watched as more and more tears fell down his face.

Hux pulled his knees to his chest and continued to sob.

Poe stayed still and comforted Hux until he stopped crying. _"I've never had to comfort someone like this. It's nice to be this close to someone and truly feel needed. To feel loved for just existing in a surrounding space."_ Poe smiled to himself as Hux sat back up.

Hux laughed, "I'm a mess."

"Aren't we all." Poe watched Hux wipe his face clean of tears.

Hux smiled, "I guess so," he turned to face Poe, "Shouldn't you be back at work by now?"

"Yeah."

"So why are you still here?"

Poe examined the lost look on Hux's face, "Because I'm worried about you."

Hux rolled his eyes and laid back on the armrest of the couch.

"I am! You don't seem to be someone to miss work often so when Leia told me you took the week off, I got worried. And now that I'm here, you don't seem ok." He laid his hand on Hux's knee.

Hux sat back up and looked into Poe's eyes, "I'm always there for my friends when they need it because It takes the attention away from me. I'm able to look away from myself and worry about something more important. It stops me from getting caught up in my own emotions and breaking down. Just like I did today."

Poe turned to face Hux, "You don't think you're important?"

Hux looked away.

"You're important to me."

Hux looked back at Poe with slightly rosy cheeks.

"You know, some people actually care about you."

Hux rolled his eyes again. He knew Poe was quoting him, "Yeah, yeah." he laid his hands on his knees with his head on top.

Poe immediately noticed the destroyed nail and skin on Hux's fingers. He lifted a few of the fingers and frowned, "You're biting your nails again."

Hux tried to pull his hands away, "So what."

"So, I can tell your anxiety is back up. Stop pushing your own emotions down, those are the most important ones. You have to love yourself too, you know."

"How's that going for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you have to love yourself, why don't you?"

Poe crossed his arms, "We're not talking about me right now."

"Why not?" Hux started to smirk.

"Because I'm not the one who just sobbed for an hour." Poe smirked.

"...Fair point." Hux kept his eye contact with Poe's.

Poe could feel that same thing he felt in the elevator with Hux, _"He wants to kiss me."_ But Poe knew now was not the time for that, "So you wanna get started on work?" He sat up and brushed his hands over his knees.

Hux cleared his throat, "Yeah. Are you gonna work here?"

"If that's ok with you."

"Yeah. I'd hate to work without my annoying cubicle neighbor."

"So you do love me Mr.Hugs!"

Hux rolled his eyes and they both got started on their writing.

The next day Poe couldn't stop thinking about what Hux said, _"You said you have to love yourself, why don't you?"_ Poe knew exactly why he didn't love himself. Because he felt he didn't need to. He thought he only needed to find love outside of himself. _"I guess that's how Hux felt. Didn't get him any farther than a breakdown."_ When he called for the elevator on the main floor of his work building he realized, _"Hux and I understand each other on a mental level. We both hate ourselves but love the people around us."_

Hux walked up and patted Poe on the back, aggressively, "Morning Poe."

Poe blushed from being started but also from the sight of those soft green eyes Hux wore, "Morning."

The elevator arrived and they both stepped in. Hux pressed the correct floor button and stood a few inches away from Poe.

Poe could feel his heart begin to race. He wanted to kiss Hux. He turned to face Hux, and as if he had the same feeling, Hux turned to face Poe. They both stood, shocked, by each other's actions. Poe took a small step forward and looked to Hux's lips.

In one smooth motion, Hux grabbed the back of Poe's neck and pulled his head closer to kiss his lips. His other hand went to the small of Poe's back.

Poe was relieved to finally feel Hux's lips on his. He wrapped his arms around Hux's torso and hugged him. The moment felt like an eternity, a great one. The elevator doors opened and they both immediately separated and walked out. Poe couldn't help but smile the entire short walk to his desk. He sat down and opened his laptop with a million words ready to spill out onto his paper. He started writing, _"The complexity of love is so specific only you can decide what it means to you. Maybe love is feeling accepted by someone you care for. Or maybe it's the deep mental connection with a friend who you realize should be way more than a friend by now. Because they were the only one that picked up the pieces that were left of you after everyone else broke you down. They understood you and smiled at you when you were on the verge of tears after a stressful first day at work. You may have thought the person that was with you for most of your rough times would be the one. The one to say I love you and mean it. But instead, they say those words like it's just another phrase. Nothing important."_ Poe took a slow breath as his mind cleared up. He leaned back in his chair and thought about the wedding. His mind boggled over the thought of Rey in a beautiful dress walking down the aisle to meet Ben. The thought of Finn and Rose going together caused an inflammation of rage to brew. He shoved his chair over to Hux and crossed his arms.

"Can I help you?" Hux turned around and smiled.

"I'm in need of a plus one to a wedding."

Hux leaned back in his chair, "Hmm a pretty interesting first date."

Poe rolled his eyes, "It doesn't have to be a date."

"But if I wanted it to be?" Hux crossed his arms.

Poe blushed, "Then it's a date."

Hux leaned forward and grabbed Poe's knees, pulling him closer. He kissed him and moved his hands to around Poe's neck.

Poe relaxed a little and fell deep into the kiss. His hands slid up Hux's legs and around his back.

"Welcome back Hux." Leia stood on the other side of Hux's cubical.

Hux panicked and lifted his hands from Poe, releasing his lips, "Yes, hi Leia. Thank you." He brushed himself off and looked her in the eye.

Leia smirked and looked back and forth between the two men in front of her, "I hope you are getting work done when you two aren't smooching" She turned around and walked back to her office.

Poe smacked his hand over his mouth to try and stop himself from laughing.

"Knock it off!" Hux smack Poe on the knee and pushed him away.

"As you wish sir Hugs!" Poe rolled his chair back to his desk and saluted to Hux.

The next few days went by so fast they are just a blur in Poe's memory. Mainly because he and Hux spelled the last few days drinking and working. The drinking was occasional but the working was non-stop leaving them both tired. Hux and Poe arrived at the wedding venue slightly late. Neither of them wanted to be there first and end up having to talk to Ben and Rey alone. Poe immediately spotted Finn, who had not texted him once after they got together last. Poe's heart could barely bear the sight of him and his mind replayed the line, "I love you" In the soft whispering tone Finn spoke on that day. His strong brown eyes dug deep into Poe's soul with a simple glimpse in his direction.

Hux grabbed Poe's hand when he noticed the tension growing in his face, "Hey, It's just for a little, then you can forget all these people."

Poe squeezed Hux's hand back, "Yup." His tone was already stressed. Though the thought of never having to see Rey and Finn ever again didn't seem too bad at this moment. But Poe knew it was just his emotions driving him.

"Poe!" Rose yelled unenthusiastically and she and Finn walked towards him.

Poe tried to turn away and leave but Hux pulled his arm, forcing him closer to his side, "Hey guys!" He leaned into Poe and whispered into his ear, "Keep it together, you're fine."

Poe looked angry. But with Hux's words, he managed to put on a half-smile.

"Who's this?" Finn asked, genuinely. He almost seemed jealous.

Hux opened his mouth to introduce himself but Poe pulled at his arm to stop him.

"This is Hux," Poe paused and looked to Hux, "My boyfriend."

Finn stuttered, "Boyfriend?"

Hux smirked and looked to Poe, "Boyfriend?"

"Yup." Poe's smile growing, he looked back to Finn.

Finn was visibly upset, "Oh...good for you." He pulled Rose closer to his side.

Poe laid his head on Hux's shoulder. He spotted Leia in the distance and pointed, "Let's sit near her."

Hux nodded and walked with Poe over to Leia.

Poe looked at Finn until he was completely behind him, "Was he jealous? Do I want him to be?"

Leia smiled at the sight of two of her employees, "I didn't expect to see you two here!" She picked up their hands and held them in hers.

Hux held his breath, "Oh you know! Poe dragged me to this, he knows both the bride and groom. Why are you here?"

Leia looked to Poe, then back to Hux, "My son is the groom. But I consider the bride the daughter I never had."

"Oh, is that so?" Hux gripped Poe's arm.

Poe whimpered and smiled at Leia through the pain.

"Excuse us," Hux dragged Poe far enough away from everyone and stood himself right in front of him, "You know Leia's son?"

Poe's eye wandered, "Yeah. We went to high school together."

Hux looked at him in disbelief, "So the fiance of the girl you drunkenly slept with is our boss's son?"

Poe sighed and nodded.

"Dude," Hux frowned at Poe's annoyed face, "That's a lot. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I told you what you needed to know. Plus the guy bullied me and continues to get on my nerves to this day. It's not the type of relationship you tell people about, especially when it's your boss's son." Poe crossed his arms.

Hux reached for Poe's hips and wrapped his fingers around his waist, "Let's hope this thing doesn't last too much longer. Then like I said, you never have to see them again."

Poe dropped his arms to his side and hugged Hux, "Yup." Then the music started playing, indicating the time for Rey to walk down the aisle. Hux and Poe rushed to sit down and turned their heads to watch Rey gracefully make her way to Ben. Poe's eyes sparkled with the sight of the simple and gorgeous dress Rey wore. She walked with Ben's dad on her side, seeing as Rey was an orphan, she didn't have anyone to walk with her. Poe looked back to Ben who was close to crying as he watched Rey step in front of him. Only for a moment did Poe wish that was him standing at the altar in front of Rey.

Rey smiled and laughed nervously, "You look amazing." Her eyes took in every last detail of Ben.

"You look beautiful." Ben smiled and took Rey's hands.

Soon after, it was time for wedding vows. Rey started, "Ben, when we met there was something about the lost look in your eyes that told me 'you can't lose him'. Over time you've shown me more and more of what that look was saying. You've told me your pain, your sorrow, and everything in between. Now, standing here in front of you, that look is gone. You seem found. You know where you should be, with me."

A few tears streamed down Ben's face.

Poe rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He was more than ready to leave after that.

Ben took a deep breath before starting his vows, "Way back in high school, your smile caught my eye. I knew right then, you were the one. I know it's crazy to say I've known you were the one for so long but it's true. Every time you'd walk away, I'd feel incomplete like I've lost something. During high school, I went through a lot of things that not many understood. But even when you didn't understand, you stayed. You tried harder to understand and helped me along the way. I wrote a poem and you've heard it but it fits how I feel even now,"

Poe knew exactly what poem Ben was about to recite. His teeth started to bite down on his nails while he adjusted his position and forced a breath of air out.

Hux put his hand on Poe's leg and smiled at him. Hux didn't know anything about the poem.

Ben took a breath and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket before he spoke again, "Your smile is filled with hope. Those eyes they help me cope. Oh, can't you see? What you're doing to me. You're making my life delightful." He folded the paper back up and laughed a little, "Not the best thing I wrote but it was high school." That made most people laugh.

But not Poe. He kept his angry look as he peered over his shoulder to Finn.

Finn gulped and looked away.

Poe took that as guilt. He knew something. Before both "I do"'s were said, Poe got up and left the venue. He didn't go far, just to the curb of the street.

Hux waited a few minutes before walking out to find Poe, "You ok?" He sat down next to him and tried to read his face.

Poe listened to the soft hum of wind blowing by his face, "That poem, I wrote it. Ben stole it from me back in high school. We both liked Rey and I wrote how I felt in a poem. That poem."

"So he stole it from you and used it as his own? That's fucked up. God, why are these people your friends?"

"Because I have no one else," Poe turned his head to Hux, "No family, no friends other than them."

Hux looked into Poe's eyes and sighed before hugging him, "You will always have me. But don't forget about yourself."

Finn and Rose came walking out and Poe spotted them. Rage filled his head, making him close to lightheaded. He pushed away from Hux and stood up. "You!" He growled as he made his way to Finn, "You knew he was going to use that poem! You know it's not his!" He yelled.

Hux ran to Poe's side and tried to pull him away from Finn.

"Sorry I would have warned you but you were too busy smooching your co-worker!" Finn snapped back.

Poe raised his fist at Finn but refrained from following through on punching him, "You can't say anything after breaking up with your girlfriend just so you can sleep with me and run away! I waited by my phone for you every night! Waited for you to tell me you were ok or even alive! Just to find you slumming it with Rose again!"

Rose looked confused, "You broke up with me? Hold on, you slept with Poe?"

Finn put his hands on Rose's shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"Oh, so you never actually broke up with her? You just gave into the idea of me! You never loved me, not even a little. Screw you." He took a step back.

Finn's breath tensed, "I really wish I hadn't."

Poe's hand formed into a fist again, nails digging into his palm. He bit his bottom lip, trying to stop the tears in his eyes from falling down his face.

Hux pulled at Poe's arm again, "C'mon, let's go."

This time Poe nodded and walked away. The entire walk home was silent. Poe ran a million thoughts in his head, _"He didn't love me. Why did I love him? He destroyed my heart. Now I will never love. I'm broken. I can't be fixed. No one wants to help me. I'm helpless. I only have myself now."_ Tears quietly streamed down his face.

Hux maintained a hold on Poe's arm the entire way. He even opened Poe's front door for him when they arrived. He could feel the emotional wall Poe had slowly crumble as he walked through the door. He walked Poe into his room and they sat down on his bed, in silence.

Poe stared at his closed door and the hole in the wall next to it. He remembered Finn comforting after Ben punched him.

Hux helped Poe take his jacket off and threw it onto the floor. He rubbed his hand over his back, "I can hear the gears in your head going full speed. Take a breath, it's ok."

Poe tried. He breathed in but when he released the air, it came out in sobs. He collapsed forward, putting his head to his knees and dug his nails into the back of his head.

Hux continued to rub his back and stayed quiet.

A few sobs later and Poe sat up with a trembling breath, "He told me he loved me and I believed him, but he didn't mean it."

Hux took one of Poe's hands and saw blood coming from a tear in his finger's skin, "It's not your fault."

"But it is," Poe took his hand away from Hux and stood up. He started to pace around his room, "It's all my fault! If I hadn't fallen for his stupidly cute face then I wouldn't have gotten hurt at all!"

Hux took off his shoes and laid down on the bed, "You don't get to decide who you fall for"

"But I have some control over it right?" He stopped moving and looked at Hux, nearly asleep, "Is that your way of peacefully telling me to relax?"

Hux smiled, "Yup," He patted the bed, "Come here."

Poe sighed and wiped a stray tear from his face as he climbed into bed beside Hux, "I hate you."

"You love me. I mean don't hate me entirely."

"I do. I love you. I mean it," He tilted his head to look to Hux, "I should have said it so long ago. You are always there for me, always make me smile, always know how to make me feel better," His own words resonated in his head, "That's it." He sat up.

"First off, I love you too. Second, what?" Hux laughed.

"My article is about love. I didn't know what love meant to me till now," He smiled at Hux, "I know what I have to write." Poe got up and grabbed his laptop before hopping back into bed.

Hux smiled. He knew Poe had a perfect idea and that he wasn't going to stop writing until he had it all written out. Poe's drive to do everything the second it came to mind was flattering to Hux.

Poe spent most of the night writing. Hux fell asleep at his side to the sound of typing. The next morning they both went to work. Hux borrowed some of Poe's clothes for the day. Poe chuckled and pulled at the loose t-shirt Hux wore, "You look cute in my clothes."

Hux couldn't help but smirk and bite his tongue. He shook his head, "Dameron you drive me insane."

"What? Can't take the compliment sir Hugs?" Then entered the elevator and went up to their floor.

"Good luck with Leia today. Not that you need it." Hux kissed Poe on the cheek before heading to his desk.

Poe smiled as he made his way to Leia's office and knocked.

"Come in." Leia sounded happy today.

Poe walked in and closed the door before stepping right in front of her desk. He noticed the wide grin she wore, "Everything ok Leia?"

She giggled, "Everything is amazing! I'm gonna be a grandma!" She spun around in her chair.

The thought of Ben and Rey having a kid dug holes in Poe's mind. But he took a deep breath and moved on, "Congrats. I have my article written, I assume you wanted to read it." He pulled out a paper from his bag and handed it to her.

She picked it up and looked at it, "When was this completed?"

"Last night."

She put the paper down, "You wrote all this in one night? Are you sure you want to turn it in now?"

"Yes. I'm proud of my work."

"Alright then." Leia read the short article. She lifted her head with a smile, "Well done Dameron. I think this hits the spot of love," She handed the paper back to him, "Email me a copy and it should be published in one of our next works."

"Yes, on it. Thank you." Poe nodded his head to her and made his way to his cubicle.

"Did she like it?" Hux leaned back in his chair.

"Dare I say she loved it?" Poe laughed as he sat down in his chair, setting his bag on top of his desk. He looked back to the paper in his hand,

_"Love is complicated. It's a concept that is given and taken, often for granted. Either way, you've said the phrase 'I love you' to someone before. With that statement, you had a reason, a feeling, something that told you why those words fit the occasion. You had your own definition of 'love'. Love blinds you from the truth. It can make you ignore the flaws, only to focus on the best parts of someone. Love clouds your judgment. It can make all the hurt and pain they cause seem okay. Even if you were the one it affected, you can't help but want to forgive them and move on. When saying 'I love you', make sure you have the right reasons to say it. The phrase can tear you apart by trying to keep the relationship together. Remember what love means to you because, in the end, love is complicated."_

Poe sighed, "I hope anyone else that reads it will like it." He looked to Hux for reassurance.

"They will."

"Always a hopeful one sir Hugs." Poe shook his head as he looked over the paper one last time.


End file.
